Rick2you2

Also, a lot of it is the same old s**t. I have watched one cover change hands (mostly between dealers) from $3,000 to now $5,500. It was a marginal buy at $3k, which I passed on. I sure won’t buy it for $5.5k.

I once had a Sunday Phantom section that would have cost more to repair than it was worth. So, I threw it in to a package of trade material. The other person did something similar by sending me some bizarre art he didn’t know how to unload either. Insurance, I expect, would be cost prohibitive for most restorers for the kind of work we need.

There was nothing obscuring the answer to your question. I don’t think the question is relevant to the basic issue of Dennis’s competence, so it wasn’t worthy of direct comment. Do I know of cops fudging things? Yes, Conveniently forgetting things? Yes. In one case, it led to someone being placed under house arrest, the stress of which, in combination with a variety of medical conditions, killed her. I acted as her third party custodian for 22 months beforehand. None of it was in the context of crowd control, but frankly, I don’t care. To be clear, I have respect for the police and the work they do. Fund them, please. And no, I don’t approve of the barging into the Capitol by crowds and causing damage. But, I also know of not so hot human beings who do very good things and visa-versa. If it doesn’t impacting the work, or the time of delivery for the product, or go to inherent trustworthiness—something which is not related to low level violence (no guns)— then I am hard pressed to see what it matters.

Are you seriously suggesting that cops are saints? They are never capable of inflating the facts, along with charges? The Capitol Police were lambasted for their performance. You don’t think they aren’t going to try and fix their reputation by bring anyone in they can to show they were on the job— and then push prosecutors, some of whom are more than willing to pad their won/lost records, to get convictions? I am suggesting that whatever happened has to be judged, and even then, if plea bargained, may be the result of a practical settlement more than proof of wrongdoing—and that, I have seen happen. I once knew a defense attorney who estimated that 20-25% of people in jail were there for crimes they did not commit. Those people may have committed other crimes, he pointed out, but not the ones for which they were in jail. I don’t know what Dennis did or didn’t do. But if he gets a really minor sentence, like probation, a fine, house arrest or community service, then he didn’t do much.

You should spend more time reading.

Frankly, I paid no attention to the “evidence” in question. You asked about a good and reputable restorer. That was my answer based on personal dealings, and yes, I would use him again if he is available. I deal with real issues of evidence and bad behavior regularly as part of my work, and things are rarely black and white. Saints are sinners; sinners are saints. Photo’s, tapes, untaped discussions, falsified records, doctored testimony, And, just plain stupid. No, hitting people is wrong. But maybe more is going on here than you or the public (let alone me) knows. If he were really that bad, would he have been let go, and told that the police would apply for a warrant at a later time?I doubt it. What if the hitting involved defense of others? What if he was just pulled into a surge? Let a judge hear what is going on; he’ll make a preliminary call when the subject of bail comes up. And, I won’t twist myself into a moral pretzel either, because I won’t pass judgement. That’s someone else’s job.

Of the three Dominguez Phantom Stranger covers which have made the rounds for sale over the past 5-10 years, I already have one (where the woman is bound to the ground and about to be bitten by a snake). But if I didn't, I would consider adding this one.

I would refuse to honor the bid and tell them why (assuming it wasn't actually stated in the listing and you just missed it, which would be your fault). I consider the failure to disclose that it was unpublished to be tantamount to fraud. And I would call it that, too.

I have used Robert Dennis in the past, have met him several times, and he is excellent at his work. If the result of the charges are probation or house arrest, and/or he is released on his own recognizance, for now, I would still recommend him. His politics are his own business; and don't forget, no one is perfect. The only question should be whether his work will be affected by what happened. And in person, he is a nice guy, not a muthafarka.

I don’t object to its inclusion; I do object to the way it takes center stage in superhero comics—beyond the occasional storyline. You want to make Superman 2 gay or bi? Fine, but skip the announcements and just tell good stories. Don’t forget, Romance comics are dead. I ‘d be much more interested in a storyline involving prejudice as against intimate relations between human and aliens. Maybe some bible-thumpers comparing it to bestiality, leaving superheros wondering why they are bothering to defend earth people. Or even that intimate relations between different species rarely produce children—or fertile children.

This may not be the most popular thing to say, but frankly: (1) the whole LBGTQ subject has been around long enough that it isn’t particularly brave (as one artist already pointed out); (2) can distract from quality story-telling by using its shock effect as a substitute; and (3) most people aren’t LBGTQ, so relationships that aren’t traditional, or don’t include sexy looking women, are probably not that big a draw outside the media for sales purposes. I really wish someone would do a parody on the whole subject, like “forbidden love” between Hawkwoman and a real hawk, which in a sense, isn’t all that different than a Kryptonian and Lois Lane.

Actually, it isn’t that limited at all. Just go on Comic Art Tracker; there is a lot of new stuff, as well as tons of old stuff. Now, there may be some value in it in 25 or 30 years, but the ROI is likely to be low—particularly as Millenials pay off their college loans.

I think you should lower your expectations to something like high end poster instead of original art. There is simply too much hand drawn, high quality art out there for the digital stuff to rise much.

On eBay or Facebook, I can get better work for under $1,000. The neck twist, as you mentioned, is bad. Also, the light source hitting the sword isn’t supported by the background. And, I don’t like the coloring.

So what is it worth if it wasn’t by BWS?

That’s not really what I was going for. More like, was the recreation a good job from an aesthetic view? has to be worth something—even a sawbuck. Albert did put a price on it, so he had some thoughts.

You might be missing something now. The reference has been deleted.

One of our omissions from the whole subject is the quality of the piece vs. its originality. As art, is it worth $10,000? Looks good from the pictures, and it seems realistically priced, but I have no general sense of how to price unidentified art.

Not knocking the art, which I like, but that has got to be one of the stupidest space ships imaginable.

I don’t think we’ve had this much fun since we had our last thread on Los Bros.

“The New 52”. I guess it’s back again.

I did, and it was not what I usually shop for—which I think is the critical reason for so many grumpy senior collectors. Items of nostalgia, or a popular character, are in high demand, plus restricted product availability, results in high prices (Econ 101). But, it doesn’t mean that is the only good art out there. For example, if P’nutz decided one day that he thinks there is a lot of artistic merit to Dale Messick’s Brenda Starr, he could have a field day racking up purchases. Just change your focus. I guarantee you, I did not go to the show to buy a chewed up mermaid by an artist I didn’t know, but the piece, and the gruesome story line convinced me. All for $750. That’s what the “Morelock’s”, and others, see. I barely went to the main exhibit area; mostly, I just wanted one of those free Dragonball Z bags (they ran out when I was there). No loss. As for dealer inventory, it is mostly on line now anyway. Break the mold and don’t look back. Why live in the past anyway?

I don’t think this is shilling, more likely, swapping or buying low value pieces in the hope there is undiscovered treasure in there, like the Yankees contract purchase of Gio Urshela a few years ago. A long time ago,I asked Steve about it and he said,”This is Ross Andruuuu….”. Yea, okay. Put him in a Spidersuit the next time you add trade dress and we’ll talk. I’m not sure I even have any Marvel pieces in my collection. It isn’t due to pricing, but character content. A lot of high priced work is based on nostalgia, and that’s where Marvel kicks in. Marvel also has great fight scenes in its books, and they lend themselves to graphics. Now, if DC published half-naked Bombshells, I expect its art would sell better.

When I went to NY Comicon last Thursday, I didn't want to go away empty-handed. So, I picked up this splash page (no pun intended) by Aaron Campbell from Hellblazer 7 (Black Label). The image is from in the water where you are looking up at a mutilated mermaid, and can see John Constantine on the shoreline. As the artist explained it, the story is really gruesome. A fisherman captured a mermaid and then impregnated her. Later, he would sell off pieces of her body as meat (which is why her tail looks like it was filleted). After she gave birth, she died. Her spawn found their fisherman father and killed him brutally. Cost: $700. I passed on a more valuable one because this just hit me as haunting. Also, the image itself is not black and white. It is a color wash on rough board. The mermaid purchase was also only half the deal. The other half is that he added me to his previously full commission list for a ledger sized Phantom Stranger ($500).

Not necessarily. The Ross Andru art advertisement showing the Phantom Stranger and Dr. Thirteen for $2,000 was something The Brothers weren’t able to unload for years at $1,600. And, that is a piece with low growth potential. 🦨